Good coffee is hard to find. I'm on a mission to make it easier. I started in Korea, moved to Sweden, and now I'm in New York, hunting for the best, and sharing the journey with you here.
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Untitled at the Whitney Museum

The Whitney museum has surprisingly good coffee, a fact I discovered with the help of Oliver Strand’s contribution to the ever-useful New York Times’ app, “The Scoop.” Past the long lines for museum admission that wrap out the door, you’ll find Untitled, a restaurant and coffee bar down stairs serving a refined take on diner food. The choice seems fitting for a museum of contemporary American art, a nod to one of Americana’s classic spaces.

Located at the Whitney Museum of American Art, Untitled is a new restaurant from Danny Meyer’s Union Square Hospitality Group, offering a contemporary, farm-to-table take on the classic Manhattan coffee shop and the simple, comforting and seasonal cooking of Executive Chef Chris Bradley (formerly the Executive Sous Chef of Gramercy Tavern.) Untitled is open for breakfast and lunch daily, brunch on weekends, and dinner Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights.

The all-day menu features updates on coffee shop classics, all made with carefully sourced, local ingredients: freshly baked breakfast pastries, eggs and omelets, pancakes, salads, soups, sandwiches and burgers, Four & Twenty Blackbirds pies, Betty Bakery cakes and Blue Marble ice cream for dessert. Visitors can also stop by for Stumptown Coffee.

Nestled under the museum’s concrete brutalist architecture, the space still manages to be surprisingly bright, airy, and warm. The food was also pleasant, simple fare that highlights fresh ingredients. I enjoyed the spinach, roasted tomato and mozzarella cheese omelette with sourdough bread. They also serve a three course dinner from Thursday through Saturday.

What piqued my curiosity, besides the food and space, was the nod from Strand that their coffee program was above average for a museum restaurant. They use Stumptown coffee, offering a house blend prepared on batch brewers, cold brew, and espresso. The espresso was well prepared and enjoyable. The drip coffee was dubious at first, coming out piping hot and obscuring the flavor, but if you let it cool to a palatable temperature it is a mellow blend that has just enough sweetness and fruity acidity to make it a pleasant companion with your food, or as takeaway to nearby Central Park.

Bottom line: above average coffee and simple but refined food in a unique space. Recommended if you’re in the area, but don’t go out of your way just for the coffee. (Update: On a recent visit I found the drip coffee served with food to be less appetizing… your mileage may vary).